WaMu Tests Killinger's Parachute

At long last, struggling Washington Mutual acceded to the inevitable and showed CEO Kerry Killinger the door. Thanks to our local newspapers' canny investments in business coverage, we're hearing about immensely important local news the day after the Wall Street Journal reported on Killinger's exit. The Seattle Times is running an AP story, and the P-I made its whole business staff (i.e., Bill Virgin) come in over the weekend and write something up. The Times did get a special from Jon Talton that recaps the WaMu/Killinger situation, and it's worth reading. If incoming head Alan Fishman's job is to work on WaMu's curb appeal, Seattle may be about to take a hard hit.